1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to automotive components. More particularly, the invention concerns a novel automotive adapter unit for coupling an engine with an unrelated transmission.
2. Discussion of the Invention
On occasion it is necessary to place into a certain vehicle an engine that cannot be directly coupled with the transmission contained within that vehicle. For example, frequently it is desirable to place a diesel engine into a truck or other vehicle that is equipped with a transmission to which the diesel engine cannot be directly coupled. When this is to be done, either the transmission must be removed and replaced with a transmission that is compatible with the diesel engine or, alternatively, some type of adapter must be used to appropriately couple the engine with the existing transmission.
Adapters for coupling dissimilar engines and transmissions are not new and several different types of adapters have been suggested in the past. Typically, these adapters comprise two or more separate rings which must be bolted to the engine and transmission and then bolted together to form the coupling. This can be extremely difficult because of the confined space between the engine and the transmission. Further, proper alignment of the two rings of the adapter is often difficult and typically special guide pins must be provided to ensure proper indexing of the ring elements.
Another significant disadvantage of many prior art adapters is that generally the transmission casing must be cut in order to gain access to the converter bolts of the transmission so that the converter bolts can be connected to a specially designed connector plate. As will become apparent from the discussion which follows, the novel adapter unit of the present invention uniquely overcomes this drawback of many prior art devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,593 issued to Brown is exemplary of prior art coupling devices. The Brown device utilizes a connector plate disposed between a powered flywheel related to the engine and a transmission flywheel related to the transmission. In the Brown device, an annular disc is used to connect a housing of the flywheel to a housing of the transmission assembly.
Additional patents having general relevance to the present invention are cited in the Brown patent. As will be better appreciated from the discussion which follows, the adapter unit of the present invention is clearly different from the devices disclosed in these patents as well as from the Brown device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,593.